Towards the end of 2025 (in the first week of December) I found myself standing in front of a classroom of primary 1 and 2 pupils at my old Primary school - St John's Primary in Barrhead. It was Skills Week and I'd been invited to talk about what I do for a living.
It was a bit of a weird experience being back in my old school. I walked those corridors, sat in those classrooms and here I was in front of brilliant young minds trying to explain app development.
It turned out to be one of the most rewarding experiences I've had in years.
What do kids actually know about apps?
I started by asking the class a simple question: "What's your favourite app?"
The answers came thick and fast - YouTube, Netflix. YouTube again. More Netflix. A few mentions of games. The pattern was clear—these children are already confident users of digital products even if they aren't cognizant of the software and processes that sit behind them.
The kids use apps every day without really understanding where they come from. To them, those little icons on the iPad just exist. They've never considered that someone had to design them, build them, test them and support them.
That was the gap I wanted to fill.
From consumer to creator
The core message I wanted to get across was simple: apps aren't magic. People make them. And you could be one of those people.
I talked about my own journey—from being a pupil in this very school, through high school, to university and eventually to founding Add Jam back in 2014. Showing them that path felt important. It's one thing to tell children they can do something however it's another to show them someone who actually did.
Then I explained how we actually make apps. Not the technical bits (no need to mention React Native to a room of P1s) but the process. The thinking.
How we really design apps
I explained that when we start a new project, we don't jump straight to coding. We start with drawings.
"We call them wireframes," I told them. "They're like rough sketches of what the app will look like."
I showed them examples of how messy first ideas can be. How we try different things. How our first idea is usually not the best one, and that's completely fine. In fact, it's expected.
This seemed to resonate. Children are used to being told to get things right first time. The idea that grown-ups who do this for a living also have rubbish first drafts felt like a revelation.
The activity: design your own app
After the talk, we moved into a hands-on activity. I'd prepared some simple worksheets:
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An A4 page with a blank app icon outline: The brief was simple: design your own app. What would it do? What would it look like? Draw your icon.
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An A4 page with three empty phone frames: Draw out the screens of your app, think about navigation - what buttons do we need? Do we have maps? Are there pictures and video? Draw out the screens and communicate your idea
The creativity of kids is astounding.
This activity actually evolved from something I first tried with my own daughter when she was three years old. I wrote about that experience in Using paper to prototype your app design - the core idea being that you don't need fancy software to start bringing app ideas to life. Taking that same concept into a classroom setting with 20+ children was a natural next step.
Why this matters for EdTech
Add Jam have built educational apps and worked with schools and educational organisations multiple times over the years. But this experience reminded me of something important: digital literacy isn't just about using technology. It's about understanding it.
Children who grow up knowing that apps are made by people - and at that people who sat in the seats they're sitting in - are more likely to see technology as something they can shape, not just consume.
For schools thinking about how to incorporate digital skills into their curriculum, activities like this are a low-barrier entry point. You don't need computers. You don't need coding knowledge. You just need the items you already have in the classroom - paper, pencils, and learners hungry to be creative.
Free resources for teachers
I've made the lesson resources freely available for any school that wants to use them:
- Lesson Guide (PDF) - A ready-to-use outline for running a similar session
- Design Your App Activity 1 (PDF) - A4 sheet with a blank app icon for children to design
- Design Your App Activity 2 (PDF) - A4 sheet with three phone frames for sketching app ideas
Feel free to adapt these for your class. My only ask is if you use them I would love to hear how it goes so please drop a message with your feedback and experience.
What's next?
Going back to St John's was a reminder of why I enjoy what I do and was a moment of reflection for me. I thoroughly enjoyed it and hope to be invited back for the Skills Week in 2026.
If you're a school in Scotland looking for someone to talk to your pupils about careers in technology, get in touch. I'm always happy to help inspire the next generation of digital talent.
Add Jam works with schools, universities and EdTech companies across the UK. If you're building educational software and need a development partner with sector experience, let's talk about your project.
